Emerald Dungeon (4 page)

“I’ll have to let you know.”

“I’ll count on that,” he lowered his voice and heat flowed through her. “We should

go to the castle.”

“What?” she breathed. Dana’s heart fluttered as she thought about Jack tying her

up in the dungeon.

“The meeting is starting in a few minutes. What did you think I meant?”

“Nothing.”

* * * * *

After Jack introduced Dana to everyone, he walked her though her parts. Why was

she so nervous? She knew the music. She met the other minstrel players, singers and

actors.

“Damon and Shannon will be up later. They’re bringing the costumes from town,”

said Jack. “There’ll be a rehearsal at eleven tomorrow and a dress rehearsal at two. This is mainly for the benefit of our new member, Dana. She knows the music. I’ve heard her play. She’ll do fine in the show tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Dana squeaked. She thought she’d have a couple days.

“Is there a problem?” Jack asked.

“No, looking forward to it.” She swallowed. Dana glanced at Jack, giving him a

worried look. Not much time to practice. Talk about getting thrown to the wolves.

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Returning her gaze, he gave her a reassuring smile with a slight nod. He must know

what she was thinking. Did she have that panicked look in her eyes?

“You’ll be fine,” he whispered in her ear.

“That’s all I have for you,” Jack said. “Any questions?”

Everyone shook their heads. “Except for the costumes,” Thea, a woman with long

reddish hair said. There were eight people in the troupe, four women and four men,

minus the couple who was missing. Thea was the flute player, her boyfriend, Kevin,

played the uilleann pipes, which sounded a bit like bagpipes, and two dancers. “I hope it’s soon. We all have plans tonight.”

Jack nodded. “I know. Hang here for a few. I’ll give Dana a quick tour while we

wait for Damon and Shannon.” He held out his hand, pointing the way to a spiral

staircase. “After you.”

Dana followed Jack up the shadowed staircase. He pointed out several rooms that

had once been bedrooms, a chapel, guest rooms and servant quarters. Then the stairs

opened onto the roof. A gust of cool air penetrated her sweatshirt and she shivered.

“Wow, what a view.”

“You can’t see much in the dark.”

“I’m glad to be here, Jack.” She could feel him studying her and the butterflies were flitting around in her stomach. “Why did you bring me up here?”

She heard him let out a breath. “I want to know what you were so afraid of before.

Why you were running from the castle earlier?”

She wanted to tell him, but she was embarrassed and confused by her reaction. She

wasn’t afraid, not anymore. Mostly she was turned on. How could she tell him this? A

previous boyfriend had tied her up a couple times for fun during sex, but it wasn’t

anything like what she saw in the dungeon. “I can’t.”

“Don’t you trust me?”

She let out a half laugh. “Jack, I don’t know you.”

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“We’ve been talking for months.”

“It’s not the same.”

“Take the chance. I can be trusted.”

The sound of voices far below caught her attention. Dana looked over the stone

wall and noticed most of the entertainers walking across the meadow carrying

costumes.

“Shannon and Damon are back,” Jack said, looking over the wall. “Maybe you’ll tell

me later.”

Back down the stairs, Dana entered the grand hall again and it was empty. Then at

one end she saw two people hunched over the large table with medieval clothing

draped on top.

“Hey, you two. What kept you?” Jack asked.

The guy spun around and Dana gasped. “The dry cleaners had a time finding all

the costumes—” He took a look at Dana and smiled. “Hello, there.” By the way he

looked at her, Dana knew he recognized her from the dungeon. “Look who’s here,

Shannon. Our visitor from earlier.” The woman with long, dark hair turned around and

gave Dana an up-and-down look, her mouth pressed together as if trying to hold back a smile. Her fingers played at the cleavage of her low-cut sweater.

“Welcome to Rathmore Castle,” Shannon said with a teasing grin. “Next time

maybe you’ll stay longer or join in?”

“I don’t think so. Sorry I disturbed you.” Dana couldn’t stop herself from

remembering Damon naked in the black robe, or Shannon strapped up, legs spread.

Her face felt flushed and her nipples tightened.

“Am I missing something?” Jack said.

“You’ll have to get the details from Dana.” Damon grinned. The man didn’t look

embarrassed at all. “My guess is we have a sub smoldering beneath that demure

surface. With the right Master—”

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Shannon punched him in the arm. “Stop it.” She turned to Dana. “Ignore him. He’s

shameless, but harmless.”

Dana glanced toward Jack’s questioning look. “I’ll tell you later.” She wasn’t about

to go into details in front of this couple.

Jack nodded, his face expressionless.

Picking up a forest-green velvet dress in her arms, Shannon brought it to Dana.

“This should fit you according to the measurements you sent us.”

“It’s beautiful. Thank you.” She glanced at Jack. “I should go and practice. See you

all tomorrow.”

“Would you like me to walk you back?” Jack’s expression turned serious.

“No,” she said a little too forcefully. “It’s been a long day.” That brought a snicker from Shannon and Damon. She didn’t acknowledge them, just descended the stairs out

of the castle.

Back in her cottage, she tried playing her harp, but even that didn’t help calm her.

Images of Shannon and Damon in the dungeon haunted her mind. She could hear the

flogger striking Shannon’s ass and thighs and see the inflamed flesh, while her anus

and pussy were exposed for Damon to fondle. Shannon had appeared to be in ecstasy.

Was that type of sex really pleasurable? She’d had a few good lovers but had she ever experienced extreme ecstasy? Would Jack do something like that?

Everywhere her body tingled as she fantasized about standing in the dungeon

naked, Jack restraining her and striking her with the flogger until her skin was red and raw. Then stimulating her clit, thrusting his cock inside her pussy. She groaned out

loud. Enough, she was torturing herself.

From her sitting area she looked out the window onto the forest. Yes, she did have

the same view as Jack. Dim light from the cottages illuminated a narrow path that led from the meadow into the trees. Light seemed to be coming from deep within the forest, or was it her imagination? She hadn’t noticed houses back there.

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Emerald Dungeon

She went outside to look. Sleep was far from her reach at the moment. Too many

life-changing thoughts were spinning around inside her head. The air was dead calm

and scented with pine and mossy bog. The silhouettes of tree branches appeared frozen against the twinkling star-filled sky. Scanning the forest, she no longer could see lights, nothing but trees. It must have been a trick of the eyes. Walking along the edge of the meadow, she listened for night creatures. Nothing. How odd. In Maryland at night,

she’d hear crickets, cicadas or frogs. Then she heard voices.

Across the open field between the castle and the cottages were a half dozen cloaked

figures heading right for her. They looked like monks or something out of a medieval

horror story, some of them carried lanterns. Druids? Hoods covered their faces. Dana

stepped back into the shadows from the cottages and froze, blood pounding in her ears.

As they passed, the hood of one of the cloaked figures slid back. It was Shannon.

Another cloaked figure covered her again. Was that Damon? Then she heard women’s

voices, giggling and whispering. It was the entertainers from the show. All of them.

Was Jack with them too?

They all rushed by, not seeing her hidden in the dark. Entering the forest without

flashlights, they moved as if they had night vision goggles. How could they see where they were going? “Shannon? Shannon!” She called out to them but they didn’t answer.

She thought she heard someone call her name so, ignoring Mr. Donegal’s and Jack’s

warning, she strode into the forest.

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Dana followed the lamplights of the robed people who darted through the forest.

When she could no longer see them, she used their voices as a guide. But the voices

shifted from far to her right one moment then far to the left. She was getting disoriented in the dark. The ground was mucky and smelled of damp, rotting leaves. She’d walked

off the trail dozens of yards ago, but the lights from the cottages glimmered through the trees so she wasn’t lost.

A shriek of laughter to her right sent her running in that direction again. Her feet

stuck in mud, she turned and tried to back out but sank in deeper. The squishing sound from her feet blotted out the faint voices. Giving up on her pursuit, she tried backing out onto dry ground. Losing her balance, she slipped and fell into mucky water over

her head. She struggled to the surface and screamed.

Spitting and sputtering the sour-tasting water, she swam to the muddy bank and

tried climbing out, but the bank was overgrown with slick, wet grass and it was like

trying to crawl up wet satin. Each attempt sent her slipping back into the water. Then strong hands gripped her wrists and dragged her up onto dry ground.

When she got to her feet, she expected to see one of the robed people. “Let me go!”

“Dana, what’re you doing out here?” Jack said, still holding onto her. He wasn’t

wearing a robe, just jeans and a tee shirt.

“I fell in the bog. What does it look like? What are
you
doing out here?” She pulled free of him and planted her hands on her hips. Grass and muck hung from her arms,

legs and clothes. She hated to think what was in her hair, what she smelled like.

“I heard you scream from my cottage. Come on. You need to get a hot shower and

I’ll show you how to start a turf fire in your fireplace so you don’t get pneumonia.”

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Emerald Dungeon

Standing on her cottage porch, Dana dug around her soggy sweatshirt pockets for

her key. Not there. No key. But she felt something else. She pulled it out and stared at another white business card. 1-800-DOM-help was clearly marked. The card wasn’t

even wet. A chill went right down to her bones. “Holy crap.”

“What’s wrong?” Jack asked.

He’d think she was crazy. She crumpled up the card. “I lost my key in the bog.”

Jack started to laugh. “You didn’t leave it in your room?”

“No, I didn’t leave it in my room,” she snapped. “It was in my sweatshirt pocket.

Now what do I do? Can I get a spare at the office?”

“Sure.” Jack laughed. “Tomorrow. The office is closed. Donegal’s gone home for the

night.” He continued to laugh.

“It’s not funny. Can’t you break in or something?”

“Nope. Donegal would have my head. And I’d be paying for any damages.”

Dana sighed and leaned against her door, defeated. “Terrific.” The card was

probably a joke, and she couldn’t be bothered right now. But how did it get in her

pocket?

“Dana, stay with me. I’ll get a key in the morning.”

She thought for a moment, trying to figure out her options. She didn’t have any. “I

could check with one of the other girls in the troupe…”

“They won’t be back for hours.”

She gasped. “They were the ones in the robes? Are all the entertainers involved in

whatever is going on in the woods? Are they doing some kind of pagan ritual?”

Jack pressed his lips together. “I’ll explain it to you when the time is right but now you need yourself a shower to warm up. I’ll give you something dry to wear.”

She hesitated again. What choice did she have? The keys to her rental car were in

her cottage and so was her purse with her money. She couldn’t even consider finding a place in town for the night.

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“I’m being blunt here,” Jack added. “Y’are shivering and you’re smelling like a

swamp. You’ll be safe in my place. That be a promise.”

“Okay,” she said through chattering teeth.

As Jack led her into his cottage, she trembled more from the cold seeping into her

bones than worry about spending the night in the one-room cottage. They’d been

chatting by email for months so they were friends. Why shouldn’t she trust him? The

heat and attraction between them since she’d arrived couldn’t be denied. She wondered if Jack felt it too.

Jack gave her towels, then a sweatshirt and sweatpants to wear. She stuffed the

business card in the pocket of the pants. Maybe she’d try calling tomorrow and find out what it was about.

“I don’t have a washer but I’ll dunk your clothes in the sink with soap to get the

bog smell out.”

“Thanks.” Dana’s feet and hands were numb.

“Get yourself a hot shower now. I’ll put the kettle on for tea and start up a fire.”

Much later, Dana was sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace, mug of hot tea in hand while Jack soaked her clothes including her panties and bra. Once finished with

his task, he brought over a blanket and covered her shoulders, then sat beside her,

rubbing her arms. “Y’are still shivering.” The heat of the fire and Jack’s touch

penetrated her body and was making her horny. Without her underwear, her body felt

ultra-sensitive beneath Jack’s baggy clothes.

“A little, but I feel much warmer. What kind of wood are you burning in the